Swiss cheese is a generic name in Norf America for severaw rewated varieties of cheese, mainwy of Norf American manufacture, which resembwe Emmentaw cheese, a yewwow, medium-hard cheese dat originated in de area around Emmentaw, in Switzerwand. Some types of Swiss cheese have a distinctive appearance, as de bwocks of de cheese are riddwed wif howes known as "eyes". Swiss cheese widout eyes is known as "bwind".[1] (The term is appwied to cheeses of dis stywe made outside Switzerwand, such as Jarwsberg cheese, which originates in Norway).

In generaw, de warger de eyes in a Swiss cheese, de more pronounced its fwavor because a wonger fermentation period gives de bacteria more time to act.[8] This poses a probwem, however, because cheese wif warge eyes does not swice weww and comes apart in mechanicaw swicers. As a resuwt, industry reguwators have wimited de eye size by which Swiss cheese receives de Grade A stamp.[9]

In 2014, 297.8 miwwion pounds of Swiss cheese was reportedwy produced in de United States.[10]

Varieties

Baby Swiss and Lacy Swiss are two varieties of American Swiss cheeses. Bof have smaww howes and a miwd fwavor. Baby Swiss is made from whowe miwk, and Lacy Swiss is made from wow fat miwk.[11] Baby Swiss was devewoped in de mid-1960s outside of Charm, Ohio, by de Guggisberg Cheese Company, owned by Awfred Guggisberg.[12]

^Nicowa Twiwwey (10 June 2015). "How Does Swiss Cheese Get Its Howes?". The New Yorker. Retrieved 10 June 2015. Switzerwand’s cheese-bwindness epidemic seems to have been caused by excessivewy cwean miwk.